Content is king. And it’s dying, a slow, painful death. Next in the line of succession? The Content Apparent. The Dauphin of content. The Content of Wales. You get the metaphor. Let us explain.
Yes, writing a blog to get ranked on Google is very much on life support.
No matter how focused and keyword-heavy you make it, your beautiful blog gets lost under AI summaries, sponsored content, random Reddit threads and those kinda-related ‘People also ask’ lists. Even if you’re technically ranked first, you’re so far down the scroll that your clickthrough rate is tragic.
Does this mean you should stop blogging? Nope.
Here’s why:
Love them or hate them, AI overviews are here to stay. They’re the first thing you see when you search, and most people will at the very least skim them for information before sliding their eyes further down the page. They’re also a sneaky side route to the top of the search results.
How? Well, AI overviews are scraped from the internet, with direct links to sources alongside a bullet-pointed summary. When a reader wants more info – or wants to link to the original source in their own work – this is the first place they’ll look (and click). With any luck, they’ll go on to read through your blog and find out more about your business.
The goal: Make sure your content pops up in these prime spots. According to Hubspot, blogs with original, customer-focused content are much more likely to be picked up in AI overviews and AI-powered search tools. Recent Datos research backs this up, finding that 52% of sources used in Google AI overviews were already in the top 10 organic search spots. This suggests that good old SEO search algorithms and AI overview algorithms have something in common – so all your blogging hasn’t been in vain.
We’re all pretty cynical these days. After 25 years online, we don’t click random links, we don’t reply to scammy emails, and we look sideways at those creepy AI babies that pop up on Facebook. In an untrusting world, you’d think that blogs and brand content would get the same treatment – but that’s only half true.
According to the Digital Marketing Institute, just 33% of consumers trust traditional ads – there’s that cynicism – but it also says that 92% trust ads that feel like stories. It’s a sign that people are looking for authentic content with a bit of emotional connection – in other words, anything that doesn’t feel like AI or boring corporate speak. Forbes agrees, saying that storytelling in blogs increases dopamine and knowledge retention. In other words, real-life stories give readers that feeling of connection and help them remember your message – win-win.
An AI overview is just that – a high-level summary of key information about the question. It’s enough for some searchers, but plenty use it as a jumping-off point for more research and reading. They’re still looking for the credibility that comes from a real person and a real brand (there’s that hunt for authenticity again).
This is your chance to offer in-depth information, answer common questions, and share your own brand perspective. When people are used to vague, broad-brush AI generalisations, a thoughtful perspective is refreshing. More insights, more connections, more of a chance they’ll choose your brand and keep coming back.
Research seems to back this up: Orbit Media found that long-form, expert-led content like ebooks, webinars and how-to guides are the most effective.
Blogs are a behind-the-scenes resource and a way to pull in new customers. Got a chatbot or AI support tool on your site? You need great content to feed into it, like research, blogs and customer case studies. These give the chatbot accurate info to pull from, so your customers get accurate answers – getting it wrong is a bad look.
You’ve got this stash of well-written, useful, digestible content that explains your brand, your products, your services and your customers – why wouldn’t you use it to train your (human) employees? Plenty of businesses use a searchable archive of blogs and other content for internal training, often with a cache of employee-only blogs that cover best practices, key processes and company culture.
Remember the credibility that comes with great blog posts? You can use that to spark conversations and make connections with IRL customers, too. Share a blog about the benefits of your service with a prospective lead. Send a how-to guide after signing up a new customer. Link customers to webinars or downloadable guides so they can find out more about your brand and your business.
Think of blogs and articles as more tools for your sales team, ways to build on customer relationships without too much annoying outreach. Think: “I’ll send you an interesting article!” instead of “When can we arrange a call to chat?”
Blogging can be a quick way to stress test your business messaging. Not aligned on tone of voice, messaging, values or perspectives? You’ll end up with a jumble of blog styles and content, with no cohesive voice or vibe. Not ideal if you’re trying to look like an industry expert.
The upside: Blogging forces you to sort out any alignment issues, which is a good thing! Writing a blog that feels wrong for your brand gives you information – you might find that it seems too opinionated, too casual or too bland. The more you and your team write, the better you’ll understand your business and your voice. From there, you can create a brand voice document to clarify your values and tone. (Funnily enough, we can help with that – here’s a blog explaining how.)
Whittle down those core values. Think about your word choices and level of formality, and how they mesh with your wider brand identity. Then (and this is key) write it down and make sure everyone reads it. With everyone on the same page, it’s much easier to build up a cohesive base of blogs and content.
Blogging isn’t dead. But it has had a bit of a makeover.
Keyword stuffing and SEO search terms are out, thoughtful content and AI-centric answers are in. The new world of blogging is about authentic storytelling, expertise and content that works for customers and the AI search algorithm.
Funnily enough, that’s what we’ve been doing the whole time. Our blogging has always been focused on human stories and great writing. We’ve never tried to outsmart Google (we know our limits).
So, if you need help sorting your brand voice and building an AI-ready collection of blogs, we’re here to help. To get started, book a chat with Helen or send us an email: info@wordsforbreakfast.co.nz
